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Journal of Ethnobiology and
Ethnomedicine
Open Access
Research
Naming a phantom the quest to find the identity of Ulluchu, an
unidentified ceremonial plant of the Moche culture in Northern
Peru
Rainer WBussmann*
1
and Douglas Sharon
2
Address:
1
William L Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA and
2
2328 Dolphin Dr, Richmond,
CA 94804, USA
Email: Rainer WBussmann* - rainer.bussmann@mobot.org; Douglas Sharon - dk_sharon@sbc.global.net
* Corresponding author
Abstract
The botanical identification of Ulluchu, an iconic fruit frequently depicted in the art of the pre-
Columbian Moche culture that flourished from A.D. 100800 on the Peruvian north coast, has
eluded scientists since its documentation in ceramics in the 1930s. Moche fine-line drawings of
Ulluchu normally depict seed-pods or seeds floating in the air in sacrificial scenes, associated with
runners and messengers or intoxicated priests. It is a grooved, comma-shaped fruit with an
enlarged calyx found mainly in fine-line scenes painted on Moche ceramics. The term first appeared
without linguistic explanation in the work of pioneer Moche scholar Rafael Larco Hoyle, and the
identification of the plant was seen as the largest remaining challenge in current archaebotany at
the Peruvian North coast. The name Ulluchu seems to have been coined by Larco. According to his
description, the name originated in the Vir River valley, and is supposedly of Mochica origin.
However, there is no linguistic evidence that such a term indeed existed in the Mochica or Yunga
language.
We conclude that Ulluchu can be identified as a group of species of the genus Guarea (Meliaceae)
based on morphological characteristics. In addition, the chemical composition of the plant's
compounds supports the thesis that it was used in a sacrificial context to improve the extraction
of blood from sacrificial victims. We also suggest that a ground preparation of Guarea seeds, when
inhaled, may have been used as a hallucinogen. However, more detailed phytochemical research is
needed to corroborate the latter hypothesis.
Background
Ulluchu is the common name assigned to a plant fre-
quently depicted in the art of the Moche culture, which
thrived on the north coast of Peru from A.D. 100 to 800.
It is a grooved, comma-shaped fruit with an enlarged calyx
found mainly in fine-line scenes painted on Moche
ceramics. The term first appeared without linguistic expla-
nation in the work of pioneer Moche scholar Rafael Larco
Hoyle ([1] Fig. Fifty-eight: [2] Fig. Ninety-eight, Figs. One
hundred and sixty-six and sixty-seven). In his 1939 publi-
cation, he reported that the peoples of the sierras and the
coastal region (Viru and Moche valleys) believed that the
fruit had to be picked silently to prevent it from turning
bitter. He wondered if the plant symbolized the silence
Published: 31 March 2009
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:8 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-5-8
Received: 26 January 2009
Accepted: 31 March 2009
This article is available from: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/8
2009 Bussmann and Sharon; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:8 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/8
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and discretion of richly attired Moche messengers, some
of whom wear belts adorned with Ulluchus. In his 1938
publication, he labeled a Moche fine-line drawing of Ullu-
chu as Phaseolus sp. (a bean). Larco clearly recognized that
Ulluchu had nothing whatsoever in common with "ulluco"
(Ullucus tuberosus), an Andean tuber still widely cultivated
and consumed in Peru nowadays.
The symbolic importance of Ulluchu in Moche iconogra-
phy was firmly established by Moche scholar Donnan
McClelland [3]. Based upon a meticulous review of the
UCLA Moche Archive, she showed that its distribution
was non-random and that its varied usage displayed defi-
nite patterns with the greatest variability among back-
ground elements and the most frequent representation
found on the belts of warriors and runners. She demon-
strated that "the leaves of the Phaseolus do not resemble
the ulluchu leaf depictions" [[3]: 43]. Pepino (Solanum
muricatum) and aji (Capsicum annum), which are clearly
depicted in Moche art and do not resemble Ulluchu were
also eliminated "since the ulluchi [sic] fruit is suspended
from the plant by its smaller pointed end, whereas these
two are suspended by the large end" [[3]: 437]. She also
indicated that the plant had not been botanically identi-
fied, pointing out that, if it turned out to be a mythical
plant, no identification would be possible.
A decade after McClelland's seminal article, S. Henry Was-
sen [4] of the Gothenburg Ethnographical Museum, elim-
inated Persea americana Miller var. americana (a wild
relative of avocado) as a candidate, and concluded that
Ulluchu was Carica candicans A. Gray (a species of wild
papaya). He also co-authored an article describing the
enzyme papain, which can be extracted from unripe
papaya, for use as a blood anti-coagulant [5]. In the latter
article, the authors proposed that papain was used in the
Moche sacrifice ceremony to prevent the coagulation of
blood drawn from sacrificed warriors for later consump-
tion by priests.
In a paper presented at the Sibley Conference at the Univer-
sity of Texas at Austin, in November 2003, McClelland [6],
in addition to updating her 1977 paper in the light of a
vastly expanded Moche Archive and archaeological discov-
eries of real Ulluchu, refuted the papaya hypothesis. She
also discussed the presence in the art of yellow oleander
seeds (Thevetia peruviana) as legging rattles as well as espingo
seeds (Nectandra sp.) which [7] had earlier suggested might
have been added to corn beer for medicinal and psycho-
tropic purposes. McClelland concluded that the largest
remaining challenge was the identification of Ulluchu.
In the present paper we build on the work of Donna
McClelland and the archaeological excavations at Sipn in
the Lambayeque Valley [8,9] and at Dos Cabezas in the
Jequetepeque Valley in the 1990s [6].
Materials and methods
The primary focus of this project has been the ethnobot-
any of medicinal plants used in Northern Peru and South-
ern Ecuador, and the changes that have occurred since
early colonial times. Fieldwork for the present study was
conducted in Southern Ecuador from 19952000, and in
Northern Peru from 20012008. In the course of the field-
work vouchers of all useful plant species sold in the mar-
kets of the region were collected after establishing prior
informed consent. The specimens were registered under
the collection series "RBU/PL," "ISA," "GER," "JULS,"
"EHCHL," "VFCHL," "TRUBH," and "TRUVANERICA,"
depending on the year of fieldwork and collection loca-
tion. Vouchers of all specimens were deposited at the Her-
bario Truxillensis (HUT, Universidad Nacional de
Trujillo), and Herbario Antenor Orrego (HAO, Universi-
dad Privada Antenor Orrego, Trujillo). In order to recog-
nize Peru's rights under the Convention on Biological
Diversity, most notably with regard to the conservation of
genetic resources in the framework of a study treating
medicinal plants, the identification of the plant material
was conducted entirely in Peru. No plant material was
exported in any form whatsoever. The nomenclature of
plant families, genera, and species followed the Catalogue
of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru [10] and
the Catalogue of Vascular Plants of Ecuador [11]. The
nomenclature was compared to the TROPICOS database.
Species were identified using the available volumes of the
Flora of Peru [12], as well as [13,14] and reference material
in the herbaria HUT, HAO, QCA, LOJA, and QCNE.
In addition to documenting the associated use-knowl-
edge, plant collectors, vendors and curanderos (local heal-
ers) were interviewed about any possible knowledge of
Ulluchu. Also, colonial records about useful plants of the
region, which include [15-21] were searched for possible
information and iconography of the plant. Photographs
of all archeological specimens found, including photo-
graphs of the interior fruit structure in broken specimens,
were obtained and used for direct comparison to botani-
cal vouchers and life specimens of plant candidates. Ulti-
mately, the available online collections of the Chicago
Field Museum, New York Botanical Garden, and Missouri
Botanical Garden were checked for possible candidates,
and specimens from the Missouri Botanical Garden Her-
barium were used for final determination and imaging.
Discussion and Results
Issues surrounding the name Ulluchu
The name Ulluchu seems to have been coined by Larco [1].
According to his description, the name originated in the
Vir River valley, and is supposedly of Mochica origin.
However, there is no linguistic evidence that such a term
indeed existed in the Mochica or Yunga language. The
most comprehensive Mochica-Spanish dictionary
available, compiled from the writings of Moche scholar
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E. Brning [22], has no such term. In addition, the local
population, as well as market vendors, plant collectors,
and curanderos interviewed, had no knowledge of Ulluchu
whatsoever, other than what they derived from Larco.
Since this first publication the term has been copied by all
subsequent authors [e.g. [3,4]], without any regard to its
validity. It is unlikely that Brning [22] would have
missed the name when doing his research early in the 20
th
century, if it indeed was still being used. Brning lists
quite a few Mochica plant names, some of which are still
used for the same plants today, e.g. "faik" = Acacia macra-
cantha (faique, espino), from "fek, fke" = spine.
The only language that has a somewhat similar word from
which Ulluchu could be derived is Quechua: "uchu" trans-
lates to "chili, pepper," while "ullu" translates as "penis."
The term "ullu uchu" is sometimes used as a name for Col-
umellia ovata R. & P. (Columelliaceae), a small high-
Andean plant, described as "a very thick tree; its wood is
suitable for various purposes, and its leaves have febrifu-
gal properties and are very bitter" [21]. However, this
plant has no likeness whatsoever to the Moche Ulluchu.
Thus we must conclude that the term Ulluchu was most
likely coined by Larco [[2]: 98] based on a Quechua term
for a species with somewhat similar fruits that has no rela-
tion to the species used by the Moche.
Botanical identification
Why is Ulluchu not Carica candicans?
Carica candicans is a wild relative of papaya (Carica papaya
L.). Although the fruits are not marketed, they are occa-
sionally consumed by the local population, and some
market vendors and healers interviewed did know the
plant under its vernacular name, "mito." Larco [1,2] never
mentions the plant in relation to Ulluchu. Assuming that
he indeed encountered a plant with that name, it cannot
have been C. candicans, because this species would have
been named "mito."
McClelland [6] argues that Ulluchu "cannot be a papaya,
which belongs to a group of plants called 'cauliflory' [i.e.,
stem flowery]. ... The flowers and fruit of a cauliflory grow
on the trunk of the tree and not on the limbs. ... Ulluchus
depicted in Moche art, however, hang from limbs. Papaya
leaves do not resemble ulluchu leaves, which are triangu-
lar, ovoid, or boomerang shapes hanging from limbs.
Each large palmate papaya leaf grows on a stem from the
top of the tree." However, further complicating this mat-
ter, it turns out that C. candicans happens to be one of the
few papayas that are not cauliflorous, that have triangular
leaves with entire margins, and the fruits do hang from
branches. Thus, judging from the iconography alone, C.
candicans actually could be Ulluchu.
Based on recent archaeological evidence however,
[6,8,9,23], it has become clear that the actual fruits found
in burials do not resemble C. candicans. In addition, the
explanation that papain, might have been extracted by the
Moche from unripe papaya for use as a blood anti-coagu-
lant [5], albeit reasonable, does not make much sense
from a phytochemical perspective. Cultivated papaya (C.
papaya) is often depicted in Moche pottery, and the species
contains large amounts of papain. Why would the Moche
have resorted to a rare wild species, when they could have
used a cultivar with the same properties that grew on their
very doorstep? Also, C. candicans fruits are often 1015
cm. long, and, while this would relate to the size of some
of the Ulluchus in the iconography, it is vastly larger than
many of the fruits depicted and much larger than the fruits
Ulluchu in archaeological context Figure 1
Ulluchu in archaeological context. A. Ulluchu fruit from
cache at Sipn. After photograph by Christopher B. Donnan.
B. Ulluchu fruit from Dos Cabezas burial. After photograph
by Donald McClelland. C. Bone beads in form of Ulluchus
fron Huaca de la Luna. After photograph by Donald McClel-
land. D. Golden Ullucho bead. After photograph by Donald
McClelland. E. Spondylus shell bead in form of Ulluchu. After
photograph by Donald McClelland. F. Supernatural figure
seated holding a gourd, possibly containing ground Ulluchu
seeds with Ulluchus painted on headdress. Private collection.
After photograph by Christopher B. Donnan, in McClelland
([6]: Fig. Three.18). G. Anthropomorphized hawk runner
carrying a snuff tube with Ulluchus on its belt and Ulluchu
seeds floating above it. The Art Institute of Chicago. After
drawing by Donna McClelland in McClelland ([6] Fig.
Three.12). H. Ulluchu harvest. Note tree with opposite leaves
and extracted seeds on bottom right. After McClelland ([6]:
Fig. Three.34), Private collection.
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found in burials. Finally, the anatomy of C. candicans
simply does not correlate with the fruits encountered in
burials.
What is Ulluchu, and what was it really used for?
Moche fine-line drawings of Ulluchu normally depict seed
pods or seeds floating in the air in sacrificial scenes (e.g.,
[6] Fig. Three.14), associated with runners and messen-
gers (e.g., [6]: Fig. Three.1) or intoxicated priests (e.g., [6]:
Fig. Three.6). The Ulluchu fruits vary greatly in size, rang-
ing from about 115 cm. They are normally comma-
shaped, often with an "exaggerated round calyx" [[6]: 43]
with lines on the body of the fruit (e.g., [6]: Fig. Three.4).
Some illustrations show Ulluchu harvested by monkeys,
and in such cases the fruit is mostly shown growing along
the axes of the plant's leaves (e.g., [6]: Figs. Three.27 &
Three.28).
Starting from this basis in 2002, we built on the work of
Donna McClelland and the archaeological excavations at
Sipn in the Lambayeque Valley [8,9,24] and at Dos Cabe-
zas in the Jequetepeque Valley in the 1990s [6,23]. Botan-
ically, all these depictions resemble capsules or drupe-like
fruits. It became apparent that in a biodiversity hotspot
like Peru, with a flora of more than 18.000 species, a large
number of plant families have fruits that vaguely resemble
Moche fineline drawings of Ulluchu, and many of these
families contain more than one genus with similar fruits.
Examples include: (Apocynaceae: Ambelania; Caricaceae:
Carica; Celastraceae: Maytenus; Chrysobalanaceae: Chryso-
balanus, Hirtella, Licania; Convolvulaceae: Dicranostyles;
Fabaceae: Aldina, Alexa, Andira, Dipteryx, Dussia, Ormosia;
Guttiferae: Tovomita; Hippocrateaceae: Cheiloclinum, Sala-
cia; Icacinaceae: Calatola; Meliaceae: Guarea; Menisperma-
ceae: Abuta, Curarea, Elephantomene, Telitoxicum;
Myristicaceae: Virola; Olacaceae: Cathedra; Quiinaceae:
Lacunaria; Sabiaceae: Meliosma; Sapindaceae: Cupania,
Paullinia; and Sapotaceae: Pouteria. Some of these are still
highly important in traditional societies. For example,
Ambelania fruit is often consumed; Ormosia contains
potent poisonous compounds, but is now mostly used in
crafts; Curarea is one of the ingredients of "curare," the
famous Amazonian arrow poison; Virola species are still
used as potent snuffs in the Amazon; and Paullinia is the
source of "yopo," an important stimulant. However, none
of these carry the vernacular name Ulluchu.
Fortunately, at this time the archaeological evidence pro-
vides good clues for identification. The Ulluchu fruits
found in burials in the 1990's are clearly capsules or
drupes, slightly comma-shaped, between 1.5 and 5 cm.
long, and slightly grooved (Fig. 1A&1B). They closely
resemble bone, gold, and Spondylus beads found in situ in
size, form, and texture (Fig. 1CE). In the iconography,
the fruits are often depicted on both sides of branches, as
in the headdress of Fig. 1F. It is important to note that this
figure has widely extended nostrils, as is often seen in peo-
ple inhaling hallucinogenic snuffs, and is holding a gourd
and pestle. McClelland ([6]: Fig. Three.18) interpreted
this as lime gourd used for chewing coca. We suggest that
this might also be a gourd used to grind the seeds of Ullu-
chu for inhalation. Further iconographic evidence sup-
ports this hypothesis. Runners and messengers associated
with Ulluchu are often winged they literally fly, i.e., the
inhalation of Ulluchu gives them wings. An excellent
example is the runner depicted in Fig. 1G: The personage
has Ulluchu on his belt, Ulluchu seeds floating above its
head, and an instrument in his hand that closely resem-
bles a typical double snuff tube that would serve to inhale
powdered hallucinogenic substances. Thus, it seems pos-
sible that one of the uses of Ulluchu may have been as a
mind-altering snuff. Another reason for identifying the
seeds in the iconography as hallucinogenic Ulluchus is
underscored by Fig. 1H: This is part of a famous Moche
scene (see [6]: Fig. Three.34) where monkeys are picking
fruits from an Ulluchu tree. It is important to note that the
tree depicted has opposite leaves and that seeds are
extracted from the fruit, possibly for roasting in a typical
oven on the bottom right. The roasted seeds could then be
ground to powder and inhaled. The fruits themselves
seem to be 5-valved. The function of Ulluchu as a halluci-
nogen is reinforced by other imagery (e.g., [6]: Fig.
Three.6), where personages, surrounded by Ulluchu fruits
lie on the ground in what clearly appears to be an intoxi-
cated state. In addition, prisoners in sacrificial scenes (e.g.,
[25]: Figs. Two.2, Two.3, Two.12 & Two.24), especially
the well known "lines of prisoners" at Huaca El Brujo and
Huaca de la Luna (Fig. 2) all show clearly visible erections,
Line of prisoners at Huaca El Brujo Figure 2
Line of prisoners at Huaca El Brujo. Photo by Rainer W.
Bussmann.
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which may be seen as another indication of the ingestion
of some substance causing this effect. From this perspec-
tive Larco's term Ulluchu [2], if derived from Quechua
"ullu-uchu" "penis pepper," would in fact make sense in
describing the possible effects of the plant in question.
Also, the association with sexual arousal is reinforced by
mythical scenes where an Ulluchu tree grows out of the
back of an erotic couple.
In light of the above, Ulluchu is a tree with opposite leaves
and fruits that are drupes between 115 cm long possibly
containing active ingredients that would elevate the blood
pressure and cause erections, and psycho-active sub-
stances. The only plant family from the list above having
representatives that meet all these criteria is Meliaceae,
and the genus Guarea is the one that most closely fits the
description. It includes mostly trees with pinnate leaves
(which is unusual for Meliaceae), and fruits that are 35
valved capsules, with large, pseudo arillate seeds. The
genus Guarea is found throughout Peru, but is mostly
restricted to tropical lowland forests, with some species
reaching cloud forest habitat. No species is found along
the dry coast of Peru, which indicates that the material
must have been widely traded in Moche times. A typical
representative is Guarea grandifolia DC. The species has
clearly pinnate leaves (Fig. 3A), and the fruits (Fig. 3C)
very clearly resemble the archaeological samples depicted
in Fig. 1. In addition, Guarea contains a large number of
species with varying fruit sizes (from 115 cm.), calyx
swelling, and grooving on the body of the fruit (Fig. 4),
which all correlates with the varied Ulluchu imagery in
Moche fineline drawings. The seeds of Guarea species,
with a distinct white navel, very much resemble the seeds
depicted in Moche fineline paintings.
Many species of Guarea are known by a wide variety of ver-
nacular names, e.g., Guarea spec.: requia, kushmsakish;
G. glabra: yecheor, yechemor; G. grandifolia: bola requia;
G. guidonia: atapio, latapi, latapi caspi, requia colorada,
requia latapi, xoro; G. kunthiana: requia, paujil ruro; G.
purusana: latapi, requia). The wood of many species is
used as timber for construction. The wood, bark, and
leaves contain compounds that act as abortive, emetic,
purgative, and antiamoebiac agents, and the bark is often
sold as Coccilliana in expectorant preparations [12,26-28].
The fruits and seeds contain a variety of alkaloids that are
very rarely used due to their high toxicity [29]. Some of the
alkaloids found, e.g. rusbyine, have a structure and effects
like emetine, an alkaloid found in Psychotria ipecacuanha
(Brot.) Stokes, which has been widely used as an emetic
and expectorant. Other species of Psychotria are well
Fruits of various species of Guarea (G. macrophylla with seeds, G. carapoides, G. carinata, G. macrophylla, G. purusana with seeds, G. guentheri with seeds) Figure 4
Fruits of various species of Guarea (G. macrophylla
with seeds, G. carapoides, G. carinata, G. macrophylla,
G. purusana with seeds, G. guentheri with seeds).
Guarea grandifolia Figure 3
Guarea grandifolia. A. Mature branch. B. Flower. C.
Mature fruit. D. Fruit cross section. E. Seeds F. Branching
pattern.
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known as components in ayahuasca preparations due to
their high content of N,N-DMT [30]. In large dosages, ipe-
cac preparations cause high blood pressure, arrhythmia,
spasms, and extension of the blood vessels. While the
existing literature on Guarea seed compounds is rather
fragmentary, it seems clear that a concentrated dosage of
Ulluchu seeds, if ingested, would increase a prisoner's
heartbeat, elevate the blood pressure, and widen blood
vessels thus causing erection. All of this would make it
much easier to extract sacrificial blood. Also, when
inhaled by priests, the active compounds could have a
mind-altering effect, which would not necessarily lead to
high levels of toxicity, and could induce very rapid, short-
term hallucinations.
Conclusion
We conclude that Ulluchu can be identified as a group of
species of the genus Guarea (Meliaceae) based on mor-
phological characteristics. In addition, the chemical com-
position of the plant's compounds supports the theses of
[3,4] that it was used in a sacrificial context to improve the
extraction of blood from sacrificial victims. We also sug-
gest that a ground preparation of Guarea seeds, when
inhaled, may have been used as a hallucinogen. However,
more detailed phytochemical research is needed to cor-
roborate the latter hypothesis.
Declaration of Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
Both authors share the contributions to fieldwork, data
analysis, and compilation of this manuscript. All authors
read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgments
Manuscript in memory of Donna McClelland.
The present study was financed through MIRT (Minority International
Research and Training) or MHIRT (Minority Health Disparity International
Research Training) as it was recently renamed, a grant from the National
Institutes of Health (Fund: 54112B MHIRT Program, Grant: G0000613), ini-
tially administered by the Fogarty International Center for Advanced Stud-
ies in Washington, D.C. MHIRT-Peru is coordinated by San Diego State
University (SDSU) in cooperation with the San Diego Museum of Man
(SDMOM), the P.A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of
California Berkeley (PAHMA-UCB), and the University of Hawaii at Manoa
in the US, as well as the Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego (UPAO, Her-
barium HAO), the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo (UNT, Herbarium HUT
and Instituto de Medicina Tropical) and the Clnica Anticona Trujillo (CAT)
in Peru. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Donna McClelland, who
unfortunately did not live to see the solution to the riddle that she worked
on for decades. Special thanks go to Christopher Donnan and Don McClel-
land for putting us on the track of Ulluchu and supplying photographs of all
of the archaeological evidence available. Finally many thanks to Barbara
Alongi at MBG, who provided the detailed drawings for Figures 1, 3, and 4.
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